Dallas Stars Prospects: Texas Stars Grab Commanding 2-0 Series Lead

There’s not much more to say other than ‘wow.’ The Texas Stars are out to a commanding 2-0 lead over the Rockford IceHogs in the Western Conference Final. That being said, Dallas Stars fans everywhere should continue keeping a close eye on their AHL affiliate.

The Dallas Stars organization isn’t necessarily used to picking up championships every year. It’s a bit of a rarity for the franchise overall when you come to think about it.

The last time the Dallas Stars won a Stanley Cup was 1999 when they claimed their first and only Cup. In 2000, they advanced to the Final but lost. Since then, it’s been unnaturally quiet.

The Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL won their last Kelly Cup championship in 2007. They last went to a Kelly Cup Final in 2010.

And finally, we have the Texas Stars of the AHL. Texas won their first and only Calder Cup championship in 2014. While one doesn’t seem like the most impressive number, it becomes more impressive when you realize the team has only been playing for nine years. And in those nine years, they have qualified for the playoffs seven times.

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Their seventh time happens to be this season, and so far, they are making the most out of it.

The Texas Stars are currently rolling through the Western Conference Final with a 2-0 series lead over the Rockford IceHogs. They look like the team to beat after tacking two losses on a previously undefeated IceHogs squad in the postseason.

It’s been an entertaining journey for the Texas Stars so far. After bouncing over the Ontario Reign in a 3-1 series victory in round one, Texas advanced to the second round. They squared off with the Pacific Division champion Tucson Roadrunners and secured a 4-1 series win. And now they are up against Rockford with a chance to go to their third Calder Cup Final in franchise history.

So far, things are going well. Texas held on in a tightly-contested game one before Remi Elie scored a second period goal that gave the Stars the 3-2 lead. Sheldon Dries followed it up in the third period with a goal of his own for the 4-2 victory. Game two was a bit more of a challenge as the Stars fell behind early but got the game tied at 2-2 to send it to overtime. About halfway through the first overtime, Curtis McKenzie scored the game winner on the power play to pick up his fourth of the postseason.

Mike McKenna continues playing stellar in the net for Texas with a save percentage of .932 and only four goals allowed.

The Texas Stars have faced overtime in every other playoff game this year. So, you might say they are “overtime tough.” But if the trend continues, game three should be decided in regulation.

The next three games will take place in Rockford with game three coming on Tuesday night. Game four will be played on Thursday and game five will round the Rockford homestand out on Friday. But with the two home wins, Texas guaranteed that there will be at least one more playoff game played in Cedar Park. Whether that is a game six in the current series or a Calder Cup Final game has yet to be determined. But we shall see.

The Texas Stars are not out of the woods yet, but they are definitely heading in the right direction. Two more wins and they are back in the Final again after missing the playoffs entirely last season. What a story that would be for the Dallas Stars organization.

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And if their solid goaltending and timely offense can keep it up, who knows how far this team could go. We’ll see what game three has to offer tonight. Make sure to tune in to AHL Live to catch the action.

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